Andrew Bird, "Lusitania (Feat. St. Vincent)"

I've been spending a lot of time up in Lake Bluff, which is a suburb north of Chicago, and where my Grandma lives, who I call 'Mum.' Yesterday we went in a local store on the hunt for Christmas gifts when I starting chatting to the owner about Andrew Bird, who actually grew up in Lake Bluff. We sat there as my Mum shopped for about 30 minutes talking about music and stories of when Andrew would come into the shop. 

Above is an amazing song by Andrew, featuring Annie Clark aka St. Vincent, who are two of my favorite artists and ironically both use to live in Chicago. 

Happy Friday and enjoy the weekend! 

Free Music - Andrew Bird

Grab some free Andrew Bird over at Noisetrade!

The Hideout Block Party

This Saturday was the 15th annual Hideout Block Party, and let's just say that it was one of the best block parties I have been to ever!!! The best part about the whole event was that it was a fundraiser for Rock For Kids, a charitable organization the provides music education to Chicago Public School children. What's more, is that Andrew Bird created a one year tuition scholarship for a student of outstanding talent to attend the Chicago High School for the Arts. Some photos of some of the amazing performers that were featured including Andrew Bird, Mavis Staples, Booker T. Jones, and Jon Langford and the Burlington Welsh Male Chorus. 
Enjoy :)

Booker T. Jones

Jon Langford and the Burlington Welsh Choir

Mavis Staples

Opera-matic

Andrew Bird

Andrew Bird, Chicago

The first time I had been to church in ages and I was here to listen to Andrew Bird. Not the most likely of places to see a concert, but it turned out to be the perfect setting for his Gezelligheid, a Dutch term for “coziness”, concert series. He achieved this snug atmosphere even with the cramped church pews, vaulted ceilings, and cold stone floors. With nothing on the stage except for huge gold gramophones and a tiny sock monkey, Andrew Bird was able to create a whole orchestra behind him with the use of looping musical pieces together. Not playing in his traditional concert style, I felt like we were experiencing an intimate moment with Andrew (I feel like we are on a first named basis now), witnessing how his music is created from the first violin strike and then deconstructed. I’ve never been to a concert where it was as eerily silent, with no one moving a muscle, albeit causing some cramped butts, while the artist played. He spoke lovingly of his western Illinois barn and played a song that he said sounded like the atmosphere. Playing mostly instrumental pieces, he also sang a few hauntingly beautiful songs, such as “Natural Disaster” and “Scythian Empires”. Andrew Bird is a rare musician, playing the violin, guitar, clapping, and whistling his way through his songs, it was a treasured experience for me to partake in what felt like the heart of his music.

Contributed by:
Amanda Douglas